eBay Mess

painthistorian · #1 09-23-2009, 09:02 AM

If e bay wants to rid the auction format and that was their purpose, WHY DID THEY KEEP THE SUB CATEGORIES FOR COINS???????

You can still separate and BROWSE graded and non graded coins, I just think they wanted to consolodate categories as their "efforts to improve the e bay experience" and there was no one at e bay that really understood the severity regarding baseball card era categories...it does not mean they are not intending to long term go to a BIN/best offer/best match structure...it would be more evident if every collectible category was destroyed like cards were.

mintacular · #2 09-23-2009, 09:19 AM

From my last 10 years of experience on eBay, these changes usually fall like dominos--cards this week, coins next month, etc. I am still hoping this is one bad dream.

If not, I hope a new site that specializes specifically in sports cards, etc. can swoop in & offer a better alternative. eBay is clearly out of touch with how collectors shop and is too big for its own britches.

D. Bergin · #3 09-23-2009, 09:38 AM

I think the answer is simply a case of too many cooks spoiling the stew.

Too many salaries, too many people with input into the decision making process, too few people with actual experience using the platform.

I think the descent began years ago when Ebay first went from a private company to a public company.

The stock went crazy and with it came unrealistic expectations of continued growth in feeding the Wall Street machine. Dumb decisions were made in the chase for short term profits and eventually Ebay decided they wanted to become the company whose ass they were metaphorically kicking for years and years...........Amazon!!

Ebay keeps saying "auctions are dying"................that's because they have been killing them off themselves!

When Ebay began it was nothing more then a few people..........a server and some fancy software.

Ebay doesn't keep any inventory.............overhead should be nill. Every one of these poor decisions creates more overhead for them and in turn more pennies they are obligated to suck off it's users to meet demand from it's stockholders.

Pretty soon the vampire's going to run out of blood to suck.

I'll be rooting for Leon.

Meanwhile..............I've got some items to list on Ebay!

WarHoundR69 · #4 09-23-2009, 10:05 AM

Leon if you do start an auction site here, please include NonSports cards.

barrysloate · #5 09-23-2009, 10:14 AM

As much as I've supported Leon with the idea of starting an auction site on Net54, the fact is no one can compete with the audience ebay reaches. It is simply remarkable, and probably the best thing about it.

When I was at my peak of selling on ebay, probably 2-3 years ago, the number of new names and new bidders I would get was extraordinary. And that in turn led to high prices realized. A site similar to ebay, hosted here, would only get a fraction of the views. So that would concern me.

Matt · #6 09-23-2009, 10:20 AM

Barry - you are correct as that has always been the issue with eBay competitors. But with people generally leaving eBay in chunks due to their decisions over the past year, and then sports-collectibles-specific folks leaving in droves over this mess, added with the fact that a significant percentage (vast majority?) of pre-war card collectors are already on this site, I think there is a good chance for success.

barrysloate · #7 09-23-2009, 10:45 AM

Matt- I agree that now would be an opportune time to start a new auction site. People are angry and looking for an alternative.

iggyman · #8 09-23-2009, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt

Barry - you are correct as that has always been the issue with eBay competitors. But with people generally leaving eBay in chunks due to their decisions over the past year, and then sports-collectibles-specific folks leaving in droves over this mess, added with the fact that a significant percentage (vast majority?) of pre-war card collectors are already on this site, I think there is a good chance for success.

I don't think a vast majority of prewar collectors use this site. I have no idea what the percentages are, but I would bet it doesn't even reach the 50% plateau. No disrespect intended, this is just my personal opinion based on years of buying and selling on eBay. It doesn't make me an expert. All I know is that over the years a few of the buyers names have stayed the same, but (as Barry mentioned) most are constantly new.

At this present time, I would welcome any viable "baseball card" alternative to eBay. Actually, I'm jumping at the bit for it! To become really successful an ebay competitor would have to attract the hard core collector (easy to do) and the casual one (not so easy). I'm a small fish, especially when compared to Barry during his "heyday", but I've made a few sales to "whales" (which are always nice when they are biting). However, it has been the housewife purchasing an anniversary present, or the guy who just likes old stuff, or the collector in Japan.....these are the people who have consistenly given me the most bang for my buck. I'm not sure how you duplicate that?

Lovely Day...

slidekellyslide · #9 09-23-2009, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrysloate

As much as I've supported Leon with the idea of starting an auction site on Net54, the fact is no one can compete with the audience ebay reaches. It is simply remarkable, and probably the best thing about it.

When I was at my peak of selling on ebay, probably 2-3 years ago, the number of new names and new bidders I would get was extraordinary. And that in turn led to high prices realized. A site similar to ebay, hosted here, would only get a fraction of the views. So that would concern me.

Yep, there is just no competition for ebay...I've auctioned a few items on the BST and they just don't go for what I can get on ebay...I even tried to auction two sports related tins on the BST and nobody even posted the minimum $25 bid so I took them to ebay and combined they sold for $180...I had a $50 BIN for them on BST and there were no takers. I think the only way a dedicated auction service on N54 works is if Ebay gets rid of the auction format completely.

Leon · #10 09-23-2009, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Yep, there is just no competition for ebay...I've auctioned a few items on the BST and they just don't go for what I can get on ebay...I even tried to auction two sports related tins on the BST and nobody even posted the minimum $25 bid so I took them to ebay and combined they sold for $180...I had a $50 BIN for them on BST and there were no takers. I think the only way a dedicated auction service on N54 works is if Ebay gets rid of the auction format completely.

The little do it yourself auctions on our BST are supposed to be mainly for fun and lower end items. That's not to say you can't try anything you want but it is mainly for fun. I sold a few sub $100 items as I didn't care what they brought.

With the newer auction proposition that I/we are considering, it's the real deal. It won't be rinky dink and it will be run a heck of a lot better than ebay (which won't be hard to do). Of course we won't have the audience ebay does. Hardly any site except Amazon does. There will be ways for sellers to protect themselves while running higher end, as well as lower end, auctions. Hey, the worst thing that can happen is it doesn't work out. Since I have always wanted to try it I am sure I/we will. Except for a link on Net54baseball.com it won't be affiliated with this forum too much. As I said before everything on the board is staying the same...same BST, same categories, no cost for anyone unless you want to advertise etc.......regards

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